


Legacy of Canary Wharf

by MiladyDragon



Series: Dragon-Verse Series One [4]
Category: Torchwood
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Angst, Dragon-Verse, M/M, Minor Character Death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-06-09
Updated: 2012-06-09
Packaged: 2017-11-07 08:34:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,382
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/429007
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MiladyDragon/pseuds/MiladyDragon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ianto Jones is determined to fight the destiny the Tarot Girl has set for him.  Is he willing to betray Jack to do it?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Legacy of Canary Wharf

**Author's Note:**

> Since "Cyberwoman" does not happen in the Dragon-Verse, this is a complete re-write that addresses the events in that episode. Since in this universe Ianto didn't work for Torchwood One, we meet Lisa in a completely different way...

_**25 September 2007** _

Ianto Jones dreamed.

In his dreams, his family was still alive. He saw them vividly: his father, a fiercely protective blue dragon; his mother, her scales as green as emeralds; and his sister, who'd taken the best features of both their parents, her coloring almost the same shade as the still, clear lake at the base of a snow-capped mountain. They were happy, living in Ddraig Llyn's valley, surrounded by friendly ephemerals and at peace with their neighbors. His sister had been courted by a fiery-tempered red dragon from the southern lands, and their father had approved of their mating. He dreamed of his family, and those dreams were good ones.

He would awaken from those, smiling.

But, more often than not, there would be nightmares. Visions of blood, and screaming, and of awakening among the butchered corpses of his family, while the so-called Christian knights who'd slaughtered them celebrated around a great bonfire, the flames crackling and popping as the once-glittering scales of his mother blackened within the heat in the way that the living bodies of their people did not. He dreamed of roaring in rage and pain, his own inner fire taking the knights by surprise, and how his sister's mate had found him, curled up among the cold ashes of the murderers, surrounded by the remains of his family, lost in the great song of mourning.

Those nightmares would fling him from the darkness of sleep, and he'd always awaken alone, his heart screaming in loss.

There were other dreams as well.

Dreams of him, in the mating flight with a beautiful blue-gray dragon, his mate's laughing blue eyes urging him higher and higher until the sky turned indigo and the stars were as hard as diamonds above them. They'd come together in the sensual dance of their people, wings and claws and the singing of the eternal song of two who were destined to be together forever.

Those were the dreams he'd awaken from with tears glistening on his snout, as the agony of what would never be ripped open yet one more wound in his already shredded soul.

It was on those days that he wondered why he was still even alive. Why the pain and grief and loneliness hadn't gotten the better of him by now, and he'd used one of the very few ways to kill dragonkind to join his long-lost family. He'd think back on everything that had happened, and would realize that the kind people of Ddraig Llyn had been the ones to care for him, to heal him and to give him a purpose. And he'd betrayed their kindnesses and their acceptance to follow an immortal man into the ephemeral world, where he'd thought he'd be able to make a difference. But all that had happened was that the larger world had tainted and spoiled him, and had hardened his heart.

He was having one of those type nights now.

Ianto lay curled on his bed of pillows, head up and looking out of the large skylight he'd had installed in the house he'd purchased upon moving to Cardiff. He couldn't really see a lot of the stars, as he could back home; the light pollution of the larger city made the sky an odd orange color and overwhelmed everything but the brightest stars.

Still, he stared out into what passed for darkness in this age, his thoughts harsh and sharp in his mind. Ianto wished he'd never left his home, that he was still keeping his inn for the very few people who came through town. That he could live among the very few ephemerals who'd become his friends, and be at peace.

But no…he'd had to follow Jack Harkness. He'd had to believe in his heart, as his mother had once told him to. She'd said Ianto had a great capacity for love, and that his heart would always lead him in the right direction. That had proven true, but then he'd met the immortal captain and had followed his heart once more…to its ruin. Ianto had believed in Jack, had believed in that prophecy that had led the man to Ianto's valley, and had followed without considering the consequences.

What had it gotten him? He'd fallen for the one person who should have been able to understand just how the long years could weigh on a lonely soul, but who didn't feel the same way about the dragon at all.

And he'd gained an anger toward humans that warmed him almost as much as his own internal flame did.

Ianto sighed. Certainly, there were good people out there: Tosh, and Kathy Swanson, and even Owen Harper although he liked to play the sarcastic prat. He could count them as friends.

But they were far outweighed by the small-minded, petty individuals that the dragon had far more experience with.

Then there was Canary Wharf.

Ianto rested his head on his crossed forelegs as his thoughts became even darker. That had shown him the height of ephemeral pride and entitlement, in the ruined tower and the bodies of nearly one thousand people. They'd reached too high, dared to take what should never have been taken. And it had earned them death or conversion.

Jack had warned him; he had to give the captain credit for that. When Jack had sent him, and Suzie, and Owen into the hell that had once been Torchwood One, he's warned them all that it would be bad. They'd had to go, to make sure what London had been hiding never fell into the wrong hands.

Ianto wasn't sure that Torchwood Three _was_ the right hands.

A soft exhalation drew his attention; his slitted eyes flickered toward the human-sized bed that he'd put in his loft – although no one had ever used it until his return from London – and the small lump under the duvet.

It seemed she was having just as bad a night as Ianto was.

The dragon remembered it vividly, making his way down that basement corridor at Torchwood Tower, searching for survivors. He'd felt the tingle before he's reached the locked door, his heart thudding painfully as he denied the sensation, knowing that it couldn't be what he'd thought…

"Ianto?"

He turned to look at her fully. "You should be sleeping," he chastised lightly.

"I…can't. Can I…join you?"

He didn't really want her to. There was something wrong with feeling her leaning against his scales, knowing that she shouldn't be wearing that ephemeral form, and that there wasn't anything they could do about that…yet.

But he couldn't deny her. "All right."

She moved tiredly, pushing the covers away from her thin, frail human body. Ianto didn't get up to help her, because she wouldn't appreciate it.

That too-cool body curled up against his side, a dainty hand resting on his shoulder. "I'm sorry," she whispered.

"It's fine," he replied, shifting his body slightly so she could be more comfortable.

"I was dreaming…about my family."

"It's a night for dreams, it seems." He didn't share what he'd been dreaming of.

"Do you think I'll ever be free?"

"Dr. Tanizaki is arriving tomorrow…or should I say, tonight, since it's after midnight," Ianto answered. "I think, if anyone can help us, it's him." Ianto wanted to hope, but there was a part of him that was aware that he'd lost most of that particular emotion a long time ago.

She sighed. "I'm frightened, Ianto. I don't want to live like this. Promise me, if he can't help – "

"I'll promise no such thing," he whispered. "I don't think I can."

_He will break your heart four times._

The card has been the Moon: a black dragon in flight, the full moon in the sky behind it.

It really hadn't occurred to him that he'd found the meaning of that card in the ruins of humanity's hubris, in a dingy cell in the deepest basement of Torchwood Tower. It had only been Gwen Cooper's arrival that had made him realize that he was seeing his Tarot reading coming true, and what that card had meant.

Ianto knew how this would turn out, if the girl had been correct. That what the dragon wanted so badly would be all in vain.

Ianto wanted to break this curse. He wanted Tanizaki to be able to help her, to be able to undo what the ephemerals had done. To regain the freedom he'd lost the moment he'd chosen to follow Jack Harkness to Cardiff, to become the Second in Command of Torchwood Three.

The dragon wanted to go home.

He knew that leaving would betray his word to Jack, something he'd never thought he'd do. In the seven years he'd been with Torchwood, even as bad as things would get between himself and the captain, Ianto had never once considered betraying him. However, that was before his fateful discovery in London.

And again, he couldn't say that Jack hadn't warned him. The immortal had told him how bad Yvonne Hartman could be, and what could happen if she'd ever found out about Ianto's true nature. There was a difference in being told, and actually seeing it for himself, and it had disgusted him. Ephemerals were barbarians, and didn't deserve being protected.

His mother would have been shocked by this change in her gentle, loving son.

There were times when he could still smell the burning of her once-emerald scales, and pushed down the knowledge that she would have been disappointed in him.

Ianto had to break this curse that was on him. He'd never thought that destiny could be such a burden.

"You need to sleep," he admonished.

"I keep thinking about it…"

"I know. But you need your rest. It's going to be a busy day, what with trying to get you into the Hub…" As much as he'd prefer Tanizaki to work there, in his home, he knew that the doctor would need the equipment that Torchwood had available.

If it could be done, of course. Ianto wanted to believe, but the despair was too great. It didn't stop him from trying, and wishing to succeed.

"Tell me again about home, Ianto." The quiet request broke him from his dark thoughts.

"It's beautiful," he replied. "Unspoiled, untouched…and the humans there care." He continued to talk, knowing his words were soothing her back into sleep.

Her soft breathing was peaceful, but Ianto still couldn't sleep. So much was riding on whether they could help her, on whether this Japanese doctor could free her from what Torchwood had done to her. Ianto desperately wanted to win out against destiny, to fight the curse that the girl had placed on him. Then, they could return to his home, and leave the wide-open world of the ephemerals behind. Let them save themselves.

The one and only hope he had, was that the being disguised as a girl had been wrong about Ianto being the last of his kind. To him, that meant the future could yet be changed.

A part of the dragon felt guilty at his selfishness, and his betrayal. Ianto pushed that guilt back down, not wanting it to stop him from what needed to be done.

The dragon closed his eyes, hoping to get a bit more sleep before he'd need to go into the Hub for the day. Sleep still eluded him; the vision of him and his mate in the mating flight danced in his minds' eye, and he stifled the song of mourning that rose in his chest, causing his heart to spasm in pain.

That flight would never happen.

Because Jack wasn't a dragon. And he didn't love Ianto.

He needed her to be well, and whole. To replace the one person he wanted to mate with more than anything.

It wasn't fair to think that way. Ianto knew it wasn't, but he couldn't help it. Between them, they had a chance at family and happiness, even if Ianto's heart would belong to someone else.

"It will be all right, Lisa," he murmured into the night. He pretended that it wasn't a lie.

* * *

_**25 September 2007** _

Jack Harkness looked out from the window in his office, watching his team as they worked.

The last couple of days had been boring; there hadn't been any Rift alerts, not even a stray Weevil. That left them nothing to do but catch-up work, mostly forms and reports that usually piled up during the busy times. Ianto had put his foot down in the morning meeting, listing just what hadn't been done, and what had to take precedence. Jack hadn't even known that Owen and Gwen still owed reports from the Ghost Machine incident, and had backed his Second in ordering the paperwork done immediately. Yes, the affair had been particularly tough on both his operatives, but that didn't excuse shoddy reporting.

Of course, then Ianto had brought Jack several files he'd needed signatures on, and suddenly the captain could sympathize with his people.

Toshiko was at her position, working on what Jack knew was her Rift Predictor program. Of them all, she was the only one caught up with her work, and so she was 'allowed' to work on one of her special projects. Jack watched as Ianto approached her with a mug of coffee, smiling at something she told him. He nodded, then moved on, taking coffees to both Gwen and Owen as they worked at their own desks. Jack frowned as Gwen didn't even acknowledge Ianto's presence.

And then Ianto was at his door, knocking softly. Jack turned, and told him to come in.

"Coffee," the dragon said, setting Jack's usual mug down on one of the many reports littering the curved desk.

"You are a lifesaver," Jack praised. "All of this paperwork is putting me to sleep."

"Well, if you'd do it in a timely manner…" Ianto hinted.

"Yeah, yeah…I know. But then I'd be ruining the fun that you have in riding me about it." Jack sent a leer in Ianto's direction, making sure the dragon knew he was talking about a completely different type of 'riding'.

Ianto's face immediately closed off, falling into the professional mask that he'd been adopting more and more lately. "I believe that's harassment, sir," he said, almost tonelessly.

Jack was surprised that his flirting had garnered such a response, and said the only thing that would come to mind. "It's only harassment if you don't like it."

Ianto's shoulders stiffened. "As I said…harassment." The dragon spun on his heel and headed toward the door.

Jack couldn't let Ianto leave like that. "Ianto."

He stopped, but didn't turn. "Is there something else I can get for you?"

The captain couldn't lie to himself. Something had been off with Ianto for weeks…no, for months. The dragon had been slowly withdrawing, as well as developing an almost pathological hatred for anyone human. Only certain people were allowed in…and increasingly that hadn't been Jack anymore. Tosh had been right, that night in his office: he was in danger of losing Ianto, and Jack didn't want to do that. The dragon meant far too much to him, even if he was afraid to admit it. And even if it was his fault for pushing him away in the first place.

"How are you, Ianto?" The moment the words were out of his mouth, Jack cursed himself silently for asking such a lame question.

The dragon still didn't turn, but Jack could tell he was surprised by the question in the sudden shifting of his feet. "I'm fine, Jack. Why wouldn't I be?"

That was the very question Jack really wanted to ask, but didn't know how to phrase it to get a proper answer from his Second. "Come back in and have a seat."

For a split second Jack was afraid Ianto wouldn't do it, but the dragon turned and took the chair opposite the desk, sitting stiffly with his feet flat on the floor and his hands curled in his lap. He reminded Jack of someone about to be reprimanded.

"We don't really talk anymore," Jack began.

But Ianto cut him off. "We really don't have anything to talk about."

He was shocked at that response. "We used to talk all the time."

Ianto shrugged one shoulder. "We used to do a lot of things, but we don't anymore."

Jack took a good look at his Second…who he also considered his friend. Ianto looked tired; there were dark circles under his eyes, and his skin was paler than usual. His eyes were showing their age, and there was something akin to pain in them.

_You did that_ , was the accusing thought.

"Is there…is there anything I can do to help?"

The dragon started at that. "Why would you think I need help?"

"You don't look well," Jack answered. "Look, I know we've had our problems, but I'm still your friend."

Not for the first time Jack wondered just what he'd done when he'd let Ianto follow him from Ddraig Llyn. He knew _why_ he'd let Ianto come; because, for one of the very few times in his very long life, someone had believed in him. Someone had trusted him, even knowing Jack's secret. And Jack had seen that Ianto would truly understand what it meant to be immortal…or as close to immortal as either one of them could be.

But the dragon had changed. The caring creature who trusted his heart was vanishing, being replaced by someone who seemed to just be going through the motions. And Ianto had made it perfectly clear that the only reason he was still there was his loyalty to Jack himself.

It made Jack wonder just how long that would last. Finally it hit home just what he was doing by pushing Ianto away, instead of simply embracing him as a trusted friend and ally. He knew though, that just being Ianto's friend would have been asking for trouble, and he didn't want the dragon any closer, out of fear that he'd be able to wear down Jack's resolve to leave with the Doctor when it was time.

There was a look of disbelief in Ianto's ancient eyes, swiftly covered up by a frosty coldness. "Is there anything else you needed? I do have work to do."

Jack stifled a sigh. It seemed it might be too late, after all. "No, that's all."

Ianto stood. "Then I'll get back to it."

The dragon had nearly made it to the door when Jack called him back once more. "I'm still planning a team bonding at the pub tonight."

Ianto turned, but didn't look Jack in the eye. "I won't be able to come, I'm afraid. Colonel Mace from UNIT has requested a phone conference for tonight."

"Call him back and cancel."

"No, Jack. I won't. We need to be on good terms with UNIT, and you know it. I won't put this off any longer than it has to be, and a pub crawl isn't a good enough reason. But, I'll join you all when I'm done, all right?" He didn't look thrilled about that capitulation.

"Will you be training Gwen in liaising with UNIT and the Home Office?"

Jack didn't miss the flinch at the inquiry. "No I won't. She's not ready." His voice was harsh with the denial. "She's barely ready to work with the local coppers, I'm not about to set her loose with any other agency and have her undo all my hard work in getting them to actually _like_ us."

It was Jack's turn to flinch. It hadn't escaped his attention that, at the last crime scene they'd had to take over, the locals hadn't been happy dealing with Gwen. He'd been completely surprised at the level of respect the police showed to Ianto, despite the dragon's self-proclaimed anger at the human race. And added to that Tosh's comments about the police asking after Ianto at the Ed Morgan scene, and Jack was starting to think that making Gwen liaison might have been a mistake.

"Jack," Ianto said, "while I appreciate you finally clearing the air with Gwen over just what my duties are here at Torchwood, I'm not about to bend over backward for her. She needs to earn her place, it cannot simply be handed to her. And, right now, her earning that place doesn't appear to be very likely." He held up his hand at the first sign that Jack was going to say something. "Now, I know you had your reason for hiring her, but don't expect me to like it. I still maintain she doesn't belong in Torchwood, and until she proves me wrong I'll continue to hold the same opinion. Now, I have work to do. If you need anything I'll have my comm. on."

With that, Ianto turned and practically marched from the room, leaving an upset Jack in his wake.

Jack wanted nothing more than to hit something. Ianto didn't even seem to be giving Gwen a chance. He'd hoped that the dragon would see Gwen as another human worth fighting for, but instead he appeared to be determined to dislike her.

But then, there were times when he thought he couldn't blame Ianto for it. Gwen had gotten completely the wrong impression about Ianto's position within Torchwood – although, he had to admit to fault in that – and they'd started off on the wrong foot. He'd pulled Gwen into his office after his conversation with Toshiko, and had told her that Ianto was Second, and that she needed to stop treating him like she was his superior. Jack still remembered the disbelieving look on her face, but she'd agreed to show more respect. If there was one thing Jack had learned over his acquaintance with Ianto Jones, was that if you respected him, then he would respect you in return.

Well, that didn't appear to be happening, and Jack knew exactly where the rest of the team stood on the issue of Gwen Cooper. It did seem that Owen was thawing out a bit, but Tosh…well, if it bothered Ianto, it bothered Toshiko. There had been a time when Jack had thought there was more between them than just a good friendship, but that turned out not to be the case. He would have encouraged it if there had been, but he wouldn't have liked it.

It was a contradiction: he pushed Ianto away in order not to get too close, and yet when the dragon showed any sort of closeness with someone else it bothered Jack. If he didn't know better, he'd say he was jealous. Jack didn't do jealousy; it just wasn't in his make-up. He was from the 51st century, after all.

_But you've lived most of your life in the 19_ _th_ _and 20_ _th_ _centuries_ , that traitorous voice whispered to him again.

He stifled it, and tried to go back to work.

* * *

The paperwork eventually got put aside for a rousing game of basketball, with even Myfanwy joining in at one point. Jack simply enjoyed the time with his team, their shouting and laughing echoing through the vast main room of the Hub. They were playing for rounds at the pub, and Jack just let himself completely relax into the give and take of the game.

It was times like this they were truly a team. It didn't matter how new Gwen was, or what their differences were…they were a team. Jack tried to ignore the fact that Ianto wasn't playing; he'd calmly demurred when asked, saying the sides would be uneven if he did join in. Then he'd headed down toward the Archives, and a stab of guilt had hit Jack, and he let himself get lost in the game in order to keep from thinking about his Second, alone down in the lower levels.

"First round's on you, Harkness," Owen laughed, as they finished the game. "Girls, get your handbags. Let's collect Tea-Boy and get the hell outta here."

"Ianto's not coming with us," Jack said. "He's got a conference call with UNIT, but he says he'll be along as soon as he's done."

"Well, that's just bollocks," Owen said, disgusted. "He should tell them where to shove it."

"I tried to tell him that, but he wouldn't listen."

Toshiko looked concerned. "I can stay with him – "

"C'mon, Tosh," Gwen looped her arm through the Japanese woman's. "Jack said he'll be along."

She still looked uncertain, but let herself be led through the cog door and into the corridor beyond. Owen traded a quick look with Jack that said something the captain couldn't quite read, then followed the ladies out.

Jack collected the basketball, setting it out of the way on the sofa. Then, with a last glance toward the entrance to the Archives, he left the Hub.

* * *

 

_**25 September 2007** _

Ianto stood in the shadows, watching as the team left to go to the pub. He'd been observing them as they played, seeing the camaraderie between them and feeling as if he were standing on the outside, looking in. It was disconcerting, because up until that point he'd felt he'd belonged, even if he didn't seem to be getting along with two of those team members at the moment. It strengthened his resolve to get Lisa the help she needed and then return to Ddraig Llyn. He didn't want to spend any more time in the human world than he needed to.

He realized that he'd miss them. A part of him didn't want to leave, wanted to stay and try to work things out with Jack and to go to the pub with Owen and to sit around his house and watch movies with Toshiko…and maybe even get to know Gwen better. He wanted to have tea with Estelle, and to swap barbs with Kathy Swanson.

It struck him just what he was giving up. He may not much like humanity, but he did have friends that he'd be leaving if – no, when – Dr. Tanizaki helped Lisa. He had to weigh the ephemeral against the eternal. All his planning against confessing all and hoping his friends could help.

The dragon shook himself. No, he couldn't do that. Torchwood was responsible for what had happened to Lisa, and while he knew Three was so much different than One, there was still that part of him that didn't trust Jack to do the right thing.

Ianto felt his eyes begin to burn with unshed tears. He'd once trusted Jack with everything, including at least one way to kill dragon-kind. He'd even given Jack the sword that had killed his mother, and shown the captain how to use it against him.

But now…after everything, that trust was gone. Only Ianto's loyalty was keeping him in Cardiff, and he was about to betray that loyalty. He could so easily blame it on so many things, but in the end Ianto knew this was as much his fault as it was anyone else's.

It was time to forget and start over, with one of his own kind and not an immortal captain who didn't hold the dragon in the same esteem that Ianto held him.

Ianto turned and headed back down into the Archives. He'd managed to get Lisa into his hoard room early that morning, through a tunnel from the sewers that only he and Jack had known about. It was a dangerous way to go, with Weevils and all, but not for a dragon. Ianto could take it easily, and he had.

He reached into his pocket for his mobile, texting Dr. Tanizaki to meet him on the Plass. They'd arranged the place when Ianto had gone to pick the scientist up earlier in the afternoon, also using the sewer tunnel to get out of the Hub without anyone seeing. No one had noticed, which suited Ianto just fine. They didn't seem to notice him much when they thought he was working in the Archives.

He would have just enough time to check on Lisa before the doctor arrived.

She was just where he'd left her, curled up on the pillows he'd set up ages ago in the large room he'd designated as his hoard. Most people seeing it would assume some sort of greed on Ianto's part, but that wasn't the case; hoarding for dragons was in their nature. Ianto had used a part of his hoard to buy his house in Cardiff, and the rest that he'd brought with him from Ddraig Llyn had been set up in this room, away from prying eyes.

Lisa raised her head at his approach. Her dusky skin had a grayish sheen, and her dark eyes were dull with pain. She tried to smile, but it was a weak effort.

The metallic abomination that had been implanted in her head was visible through her shorn hair.

It made Ianto sick to see it, but he tried to hide it by returning her smile. The ephemerals had done this to her; it would have been different if she'd been taken by the Cybermen, because they at least were programmed to do what they did. Humans though…humans chose to perpetuate their horrors on others. It wasn't something they were controlled into doing. No, it was of their own free will that humanity performed their atrocities on their fellows.

"How are you feeling?" he asked gently.

"Tired," she answered. "Is it almost time?"

"Dr. Tanizaki is on his way. As soon as he's here, I'll come and get you. I'm sure he'll want to use the medical facilities for his initial examination."

"Good." She lay back down. "I'll be glad when this is all over."

He would be, too. This had gone on too long, and his betrayal was weighing heavily on him. The sooner they were away, the better.

Ianto left her, in order to meet Tanizaki and to bring him down into the Hub.

"Thank you for coming, doctor," Ianto said as he ushered the Japanese scientist into the Hub. "Are they looking after you at the hotel?"

"Passably," the man answered, looking around the Hub in surprise. "This is fantastic!"

Ianto took the case that the man was carrying. There was something about Tanizaki that, upon meeting him for the second time, made him uneasy. He pushed down the feeling, knowing he was here to help Lisa, and that they needed him to release her if he could.

It occurred to him that he wasn't trusting his heart as his mother had often told him to do, but he'd done that before and where had it gotten him?

The walk down to the hoard room was done in silence. Ianto took a key from his waistcoat pocket – he always locked the door after he left – and turned to the man before inserting it into the lock. "I've done everything I could," he said, opening the door. "But I don't have the technical and medical know-how to do much of anything but keep her company and take care of her bodily needs."

Tanizaki walked into the hoard room, and Ianto heard the soft gasp as the ephemeral took in the riches that lined shelves against every wall. He knew what it looked like to humans: a treasure cave, glittering with gold and precious stones and other such priceless items. Ianto knew the hoarding instinct didn't exist within the ephemerals, and would only see wealth beyond imagining.

Lisa had sat up among the pillows and quilts in the middle of the room; her dark eyes were watching Tanizaki closely, distrust evident in them. Ianto knew how she felt; having him here wasn't right, and yet they had no choice.

"This is Lisa," Ianto introduced, motioning toward the woman. "She's the one we've asked you here to see."

Tanizaki moved forward, seeing the ugly metal thing attached to Lisa's skull. His eyes widened, and he turned back to Ianto. "You were correct, Mr. Jones," he said. "This looks like a control device. How did it come to be attached to her?"

Ianto's eyes met Lisa's, and he knew they'd have to be as honest as possible if they expected the man to help them. "She was…a prisoner," Ianto answered slowly. "The people who held her attached that to her as an experiment."

The scientist sat down on the floor next to her. He removed a penlight from his pocket, flashing it into her eyes. "I'd like to ask you some questions. I am Dr. Tanizaki. I specialize in the Neurological Sciences. Your friend, Mr. Jones, asked me to come – "

"We decided together," Lisa said, her voice as firm as it could be. "I did the search, and when we found you we talked about it."

Tanizaki nodded. "Your name is Lisa?"

She nodded.

"How old are you?"

Her eyes flickered toward Ianto, and he nodded. If they hoped to get that damned device out of her head, he knew they would have to be honest. There was always Retcon afterward if needed.

"I'm…one thousand and twenty-six years old," she said quietly.

Tanizaki froze. "You're what?"

"Lisa and I aren't…human," Ianto put in. "We were born on Earth, but of a different race. I have all the medical information we have on hand for you to look at."

The doctor looked from him, to Lisa, and then back again. "I find this situation very improbable, but I believe you. After all, I've also heard of Torchwood, and I once did some consulting work for them. As long as I have the records I need."

Ianto wasn't surprised by that; in fact, one of the questions he and Lisa had asked him was about Torchwood. It still bothered him, but he ignored the niggling doubt.

He turned back to Lisa. "What is the last thing you remember?"

"Pain," she answered quietly. "I remember…they were trying to get me to do something, and I couldn't, and the pain in my head…but then, darkness until Ianto saved me." She smiled up at him, gratitude in her eyes.

Ianto returned the smile. "I was just glad I found you."

"You say there's a place where I can work?" Tanizaki asked, standing.

Ianto nodded. He reached down, and picked Lisa up. She weighed next to nothing, her chill skin clammy under his hands.

The trip up to the medical bay was done in silence. Lisa's soft breath brushed his cheek as Ianto carried her up into the main part of the Hub, her arms draped loosely around him. He was worried about letting the scientist have access to such high-tech equipment, but it was all to help Lisa, and Ianto was selfish enough not to want to be alone anymore.

He carefully laid her down on the metal examination table, as Tanizaki bustled around the room. Ianto once again wondered why he hadn't asked Owen for help, but then the medic wasn't a specialist, not like Tanizaki. It wasn't that he didn't trust his teammate to do his job, only that Ianto thought this particular job was beyond him, as did Lisa. And he didn't want to risk the only other one of his kind left.

Tanizaki began asking for things; Ianto fetched them, knowing where Owen kept everything in the medical bay. Then he took scans of Lisa's head, and while Ianto knew quite a bit about technology he wasn't a scientist, but he could see how the metal box was attached: thin tendrils had been inserted into her brain and were linked to the box itself.

It made him sick to see it.

The dragon had no idea how long Tanizaki's examination had gone on, but eventually the Japanese man stepped back from the table. "I've…seen this sort of technology before," he said, "and it's an elegant piece of work."

Ianto swallowed against the bile that rose in his throat. The man was actually praising the criminal who'd made the thing that was keeping Lisa weak and ill? He barely held down the urge to drag the ephemeral away from her, to kill him and hide his body in the vaults where no one would ever find it. But Ianto took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. "Can you remove it?"

Tanizaki nodded. "It's surprisingly simple. I can do it now. I'll need my case."

Ianto fetched it from where the man had left it. For the first time in the months since Canary Wharf he actually felt hope, and it lightened his steps as he brought the brown attaché case back to the doctor. He helped Lisa move into the position that made it easier to get to the mechanism that was preventing Lisa from returning to her natural form, as Tanizaki pulled several miniature tools from inside, including what looked like a pair of cuticle scissors.

"You're going to feel some tugging," he said dispassionately.

"All right," Lisa whispered. She was shivering, and Ianto wished he'd have brought up one of the quilts from the hoard room.

"All I ask," Tanizaki said, "is that I get to keep the device when it has been removed."

Ianto nodded. He didn't want that thing around either of them.

As the ephemeral began to work, he kept nattering on about how he'd always thought that dragons was myths, and how he'd never even considered meeting one, let alone two. Ianto let him talk, the words washing over him, all his attention was on the woman lying on the table. Her eyes were tightly closed, and her hand had reached out to him instinctively. Ianto had taken it, the coolness of the flesh feeling wrong against his palm, but knowing soon her natural body heat would grow once more. He would help to feed her internal flame when they arrived home.

A sudden alarm sounded, breaking him from his thoughts. He let go, ignoring her small whimper, he practically ran to Tosh's desk. What he saw made his heart stop.

"Can she be moved?" he demanded.

Tanizaki didn't look up. "I'm nearly done – "

"We need to take her back down to the hoard room," the dragon ordered. "My teammates are coming back, and she can't be found here."

Without waiting for approval, he scooped Lisa up into his arms once more. Trusting that the ephemeral would follow, Ianto practically ran back to the level of his hoard. Placing her back down amongst the pillows, he headed back out to meet the team. "I'm going to lock you in," he said. "Finish up and I'll be down in a little while to let you out."

Tanizaki looked affronted at the idea, but nodded. "I should be done very shortly."

"I can already feel it, Ianto," Lisa murmured, awe in her voice. She looked better even then; her skin was more of a natural tone, and her eyes sparkled.

He smiled at her. "Just rest here, and I'll be back. Then we can leave."

Ianto felt so much better than he had in so long as he made his way back up toward the main area of the Hub. Soon, they could go home, and together they could make a life for themselves away from Torchwood and the hateful ephemerals. The mortals of Ddraig Llyn could be trusted to protect them, even from Jack.

There was still that doubt: the one that said he was betraying Jack, and that nothing good could come of it. But hadn't Jack betrayed Ianto already? Why shouldn't the dragon repay the kindness?

Ianto was just heading up into the main Archives when a horrible scream echoed down the corridor from where he'd just come.

* * *

 

_**25 September 2007** _

Jack looked at his watch for the third time in fifteen minutes, letting his mind wander from the rather animated conversation his teammates were having and onto the subject of his Second.

It had been a little over an hour since they'd left the Hub, and Jack had expected Ianto before now. Surely his UNIT call couldn't be taking this long? Sure, some of the UNIT brass could be a bit long-winded, but Mace was one of the few Jack got along with, and from experience the man liked to get things done with no idle chit chat or blowhard chest pounding. He just couldn't see any phone call lasting this long.

Which meant that Ianto wasn't coming.

He took a drink of his water, trying to also drown the feeling of hurt at the thought that Ianto had lied to him about joining them. He really should have expected it, from the dragon's distancing himself from the team…and from him. Jack should have been happy about that, that his pushing Ianto away was actually working, but he wasn't.

Feelings were just too damn complicated.

For the very first time in the years they'd known each other, Jack was considering telling Ianto just what he was waiting for, and why he couldn't afford to get any closer. Maybe if the dragon knew about the Doctor and Jack's own need for answers, he'd be all right. And maybe they could get back to the friendship they'd had before Jack had given into his desires and had taken Ianto to his bed.

But no. Jack couldn't do that. It would mean telling Ianto that he fully intended to leave when he did find the Doctor. He didn't want to risk the dragon trying to change his mind about going. If Jack was honest with himself, Ianto would have a very good chance of that.

A sharp beeping pulled him from his thoughts. He glanced over at Tosh, who was rooting around in her bag. She pulled out her PDA, checking the reading. "UFO sighting over Cardigan Bay," she reported. "Seven calls to emergency services."

"Can we at least finish our drinks?" Owen asked, almost petulantly.

"Sure," Jack answered. "Take ten seconds."

He swallowed the last of his water, while the others did the same with their own drinks. He was secretly glad of the alert; it meant he could now legitimately go back to the Hub and check on Ianto.

The others kept up their conversation as they walked back. Jack kept half an ear on it, as the girls argued with Owen about who got to drive the SUV. He wanted to join in, but his mind wouldn't drop the subject of Ianto Jones.

He was going to have to do something. He only hoped he hadn't completely burned all his bridges with the dragon.

* * *

The main Hub was empty.

Jack was disappointed. Ianto must have gone home, instead of joining them at the pub. Somehow, he felt it was like the last nail in the coffin of their relationship – or whatever it was they had – even as he was giving orders to check on the supposed sighting. It didn't take them long to figure out what was going on.

"That's a UFO?" Gwen asked, staring at the fuzzy object on one of Tosh's screens.

"Arkan leisure cruiser, first generation," Jack answered absently. "Collector's item, you don't see many of them around these days. Tosh, send out a polite message saying great to see them, but could they please get the hell out of our atmosphere, they're spooking the locals."

Toshiko was already typing. "Done," she said, giving Jack a sly grin.

"Shouldn't we be apprehending it?" Gwen asked.

Jack was a bit bothered by the question. "No point. They don't mean any harm."

"Sides," Owen put in, "Arkans are mostly liquid. They'd make a hell of a mess."

Jack opened his mouth to say something, when a very faint sound reached his ears. "Did anyone else here that?"

The other three looked at him strangely. "Hear what?" Gwen asked.

He cursed his better than average human 51st century hearing. "It sounded like a scream, deep underground…Tosh, pull up a scan of the lower levels…"

Tosh turned to do so, as Gwen said, "You must have been hearing things, Jack."

"No," he answered. "I know I heard something." He was suddenly afraid that it had been Ianto he'd heard, and that he'd been injured somehow. He knew nothing could really do that much damage to the dragon, but there were alien artifacts that they didn't know what they did, and he could have been hurt by one…

"Jack," Tosh's voice drew his attention. "Look."

He turned to see what she'd found, and his heart began to race.

"Two signals?" Owen asked.

"And a third…look." Tosh pointed out yet another heat signature, this one running back toward the two others. "Two of these are a lot hotter than average, at least according to the scans." She glanced at Jack, and he could read the question in her eyes.

Jack looked at the schematics on her screen. The two presences were in Ianto's hoard room. One of them was human normal…although it seemed to be fading a little. The other…Ianto had a higher temperature than humans did, plus the blob was larger.

But, if the larger signal was Ianto, then who was the warmer signature currently running toward the room?

"I think we're under attack." It was the only thing that made sense. "Security's been breached." Jack pulled his Webley from the holster at his waist, and headed down toward the entrance to the Archives. "We assume battle protocols."

"That's impossible!" Toshiko cried. "Nobody can get in without triggering seven separate alarms!"

"Yeah, well it looks like our system needs to be upgraded!" Jack's thoughts were racing. He knew the one heat source – the one in the hoard room – had to be Ianto. The dragon would be the only one with a reason to be there. But the others…he couldn't even guess.

"I'm coming with you," Owen said, checking his own gun.

"So am I," Gwen said.

"No Gwen," Jack ordered. "Stay up here with Tosh. I don't want anyone alone in the Hub until we figure out what's going on."

Gwen looked like she wanted to argue, but simply nodded instead.

Jack took off, running down through the Archives and toward the hoard room. He prayed that Ianto was all right; but wondered, if the dragon was under attack, why he hadn't called for help? Jack thumbed on his comms. "Ianto? Ianto, I need to hear those beautiful Welsh vowels…"

There was no response.

He couldn't tell if his heart was beating so fast because of the exertion, or out of fear. Ianto was down there, alone and in danger. If anything happened to him…

No, Jack couldn't think that way.

He and Owen turned the corner to the hoard room…and saw Ianto standing outside, his hands on the door.

Jack had never been so relieved in his life. "Ianto!"

The dragon turned at Jack's call. The captain immediately noticed his Second's too-pale face, his blue eyes wide. He opened his mouth to say something, but a sudden loud thump against the door at his back stopped him.

Jack was confused. If Ianto was outside the door, then who was the large heat signature inside?

Through the small window in the door, something dark moved. Jack's hands tightened on his weapon, as Owen cursed quietly.

"Ianto," Jack said, trying to stay calm, "do you know what's going on?"

Suddenly, a voice came from behind the door. "Ianto? Are these your ephemeral friends?" A large dark eye, slitted like a cat's, appeared at the tiny window. "There's something…different, about the one, though. He stinks of Time."

Jack shivered at the voice. It was obviously feminine, with the same growling undertones that Ianto's gained when he was transformed into…

A dragon.

There was another dragon behind that door.

"That's impossible," he whispered.

Ianto's head came up, a calm mask slipping over what had to have been panic on his features. "I assure you, it's very possible."

"Bloody hell," Owen gasped, as he came to the same conclusion. "I thought you said you were the only one left!"

"Where did she come from?" Jack had the feeling he wouldn't like the answer.

"I found her," Ianto answered, almost proudly. "She was a prisoner of Torchwood London. I rescued her from Canary Wharf. They'd experimented on her…tortured her. And then put this…device on her that trapped her in human form for _years_."

Jack's heart clenched. How had Yvonne Hartman gotten ahold of a dragon? And to have forced one to keep human shape for so long…Ianto had told him how it felt to go without transforming into his dragon form for a long period of time, saying that it could get uncomfortable. But to remain in one for that long, Jack knew it had to have been yet another type of torture.

"How'd you get her past me and Suzie?" Owen asked.

Ianto barked a laugh. "Suzie was too interested in scavenging whatever tech she could get her hands on. And you were busy flirting with the 'cute UNIT birds', I believe is how you put it. Besides, it was simple to mix her in with the injured, and then smuggle her back to Cardiff."

"Has she been here all this time?" Jack was appalled. If Ianto had managed to hide another dragon for months in the Hub itself and he hadn't noticed –

"No, I've kept her at my home, until today. I've been taking care of her."

"Why didn't you say anything?" Jack didn't like the pleading tone in his voice, but he just couldn't understand why the dragon hadn't come to him, or to any of the team.

Ianto lifted his chin. "I should have thought the answer to that would be obvious. I didn't trust you, Jack."

That was like a slap in the face, and Jack reeled as if physically struck. Tosh's words from that night came back to him, and Jack realized that she'd said something too late: they'd already lost Ianto. He'd chosen to betray the trust that Jack had put in him…but it was only because Jack had betrayed Ianto's trust first.

"And I'm sorry, Owen," the dragon turned to the medic. "I thought about coming to you, but I couldn't risk it getting back to Jack. Also, I thought what had happened to Lisa was beyond your own knowledge."

"You can still trust me, Ianto," Jack murmured. "I wouldn't have done anything to hurt either of you."

"But you have hurt me," the dragon snapped. "You act like you're so alone, that you have no one. But you're so determined to push everyone away, when you don't have to." He waved his hand toward Owen. "You're surrounded by your own kind, Jack. Everyone around you is human, you can connect to them…but you choose not to."

He took a deep breath. "But I'm the only one of dragon-kind left…or I thought I was until Lisa. I would never have the intimacy of another being…would never speak my own language or be able to relate to someone like myself. To…never be able to perform the mating flight with someone I…love."

The pause before the word 'love' was barely there, but Jack noticed it. His heart sank. Had Ianto meant…

"And then there's…" Ianto swallowed, his eyes flickering toward Owen, then back to Jack. Jack knew what he wasn't saying: _We're both immortal, we had this in common, and yet you still pushed me away._

Then the dragon straightened. "All we want to do is leave. Lisa still needs time to heal, and the best place to do that is away from ephemerals. Please Jack…if we were ever friends, just do this for me. Let us go."

Jack's mouth opened then closed, and opened again, but nothing would come out. It felt like his life was falling apart, in a way he'd never thought possible. Ianto wanted to leave…and Jack knew it was his fault.

"If…if that's what you want," he finally managed to get out past the regrets that were bombarding him like a hailstorm.

Ianto's head bowed, and he let out a shuddering sigh. "Thank you." The dragon turned to the door, twisting the key in the lock and throwing the door open. "Come out, Lisa."

The other dragon was gone, replaced by a small, dark-skinned woman with hair cut close to her scalp. She was wearing an old-fashioned nightdress, and her feet were bare. "It's safe?" she asked tremulously.

"Yes, we're free to go," he answered. Then he looked around her. "Where's Dr. Tanizaki?"

"He's still in there," she answered, and Jack could swear there was a gleeful tone to her words.

"Who's Dr. Tanizaki?" Jack demanded, remembering the third heat signature they'd gotten on the scanners.

"He's the scientist Lisa and I found," Ianto explained. "He was the one who freed Lisa from the thing that had been attached to her head."

Jack sighed. They'd have to Retcon him, of course. "Let's take care of him, then." He stepped around Ianto and Lisa, entering into the hoard room.

What he saw had him calling for Owen.

The remains of a human lay crushed near the middle of the room. Owen darted past him, cursing loudly. The captain heard Ianto asking Lisa why she'd done it…

And the sudden, loud clanging of the door as it was swung shut. The locking of the door had the sound of finality about it.

* * *

 

_**25 September 2007** _

One moment, Ianto was facing Lisa, asking her why she'd killed Tanizaki.

The next, she'd given him a shove that surprised him with its strength, and the heavy metal door was being shut, the lock clicking closed.

He slammed himself bodily into the door, and if he'd been any normal human he would have damaged his shoulder. "Lisa!' he shouted through the small window. "What are you doing?"

He could see her moving beyond the door, and then her mouth was up against the opening. "You want to know why I killed him?" she asked, almost in a sing-song tone. "I'll tell you…because he was one of the ephemerals who created that _thing_ they put on me. No, he was never actually present when they tested it, but I heard them mention his name in between screaming for mercy, and they gave him credit for the original idea."

Ianto stopped breathing in shock. _No…_

"It wasn't easy to find him," she went on, "but I did. You left me with the computer, remember? You thought I might be bored on my own during the day, and I used that time well. He was mine the moment he answered our email. He was the only one I could make pay for what they did to me."

"You've had your revenge," Ianto said, desperately. "Let us out, and we can still leave. We can still go home!"

"But I'm not done yet," she answered, the pout in her voice evident. "There's a whole world full of ephemerals out there who don't deserve to live." She paused, and Ianto could hear her breathing against the door. "Come with me," she whispered. "We can each have our vengeance on the humans who've hurt us."

"Any humans who might've done us harm in the past are all dead," Ianto replied, his heart in his throat. "Those out there are innocent. They haven't done anything to us!"

He was well aware of the irony of his words. He'd spent so much time blaming ephemerals for the hurts done to him that he'd grown to hate them all, even including his own teammates in a way. And now, he was trying to convince another dragon that they were worth saving.

Lisa laughed. "I've heard you disparaging human-kind, Ianto. You know you don't believe that."

"Yes, I have. But I'm not about to kill them. I only wanted us to go home." He leaned his face against the cold metal, needing to get through to her.

"It's your home, Ianto. Not mine. Now, I'm going to leave this place. You have a choice: come with me, or stay with the humans who don't understand you, and the one who's rejected you. I would never do that; you know that, don't you? I'd stay with you for eternity, willingly mate myself to you. I know you want that," she broke off, and suddenly the first dragon-tongue he'd heard in a millennium whispered from her parted lips…it was his name, his true name, one he'd never told anyone else but her.

Oh, he did. He wanted that more than anything, to be able to share his long life with a mate and children and to finally be understood. He could imagine a family, living at peace in the mountains around Ddraig Llyn…

"Ianto."

The familiar voice broke into his reverie, and he turned to face Jack, who stood just behind him. Jack's hands were in his pockets, and he was looking at Ianto so poignantly that it nearly brought tears to Ianto's eyes. Why couldn't Jack have looked at him like that before they'd found themselves in this situation? Why had he waited so long?

"Don't go," Jack murmured. "You're not a bloodthirsty killer. You might not like us, but you respect us. You respect what we do, to help this planet. And you know everyone deserves to live. You've seen far too much death not to."

This was his choice: Lisa, who was like him and yet obviously damaged by her experiences; or Jack, the man he loved and yet couldn't have. He'd thought he'd already done just this, by helping Lisa out of the wreckage of Canary Wharf and by keeping her very presence secret from Jack. He'd thought that he'd been completely rejected by Jack, that he'd chosen an ephemeral woman over an eternal dragon, the one being who could understand what living forever really meant. The man steadfastly remained alone even when he didn't need to, and he hurt all those around him by doing so.

And then there was Lisa; the last of dragon-kind save himself, who'd been through so much, had seen so much hell, and who he'd believed had come through unscathed…only he'd been wrong. Now, she wanted revenge against people who were long dead, and was willing to take it out on anyone who got in her way. She was willing to turn her back on her own peaceful upbringing in order to destroy those she thought had done wrong by her, and thought that he felt the same as she did.

There was no choice, really.

"Let me out," he answered. "I'm coming with you."

The shock on Jack's face was horrible to see. But Ianto couldn't let it get to him.

He knew what he had to do.

"Bloody hell," Owen swore. Ianto had almost forgotten he was there. "You're gonna betray your friends for a murderous, nutcase dragon?"

Ianto surged forward, grabbing Owen by the throat and throwing him against the wall. "Shut up," he growled, letting his eyes change into their slitted dragon form. "You have no right to talk about her like that! You have no idea what she's been through…what _we've_ been through! You have no right to judge!"

Ianto felt hands on his shoulders, pulling him away from the slowly choking medic. "Stop it!" Jack snarled. "You'll kill him!"

He managed to get Ianto off Owen, pushing the dragon away. The anger and hurt was palpable in every movement Jack made, and all Ianto could think of was how he wished he could somehow make this better.

Ianto stepped back toward the opening door. He slipped through, pulling it shut behind him and leaving the two men locked inside. He looked at Lisa; she was practically radiant, her smile lighting up her beautiful face.

But now, Ianto could see something off about the expression. He barely managed to suppress the shiver. "Come on," he said, taking her now-warm hand. "I need to get something, then we can go."

Hand in hand, they walked up toward the main area of the Hub. Ianto didn't want to think; didn't want to even consider what was going to happen now. It was bad enough that he'd betrayed Jack…

Halfway there, the Hub went into lockdown.

Ianto knew he had Jack to thank for that, certain that the captain had contacted Toshiko through the comm., warning her of their approach.

"What is that?" Lisa asked worriedly.

"They've put the Hub into lockdown," Ianto explained. "Don't worry, I can override it."

She smiled up at him once more, and Ianto returned it, his heart hammering so hard in his chest he wondered why she couldn't hear it.

The work area was empty. Jack would have warned Gwen and Tosh even as he ordered the lockdown, and he was glad they weren't in sight. Ianto sat Lisa down on the sofa. "I'll be right back," he said, pressing a kiss to her forehead, his stomach feeling like it was being torn apart by rats.

Without a backward glance, he made his way to Jack's office, to the Secure Archive. Jack had trusted him – trusted him! – with the code years ago, and it took only moments to open it and find what he was searching for.

It was a simple-looking blade, perhaps two and a half feet long including the leather-wrapped single-handed hilt. It was pitted and worm, a well-used yet decently maintained weapon.

It had been wielded by the so-called knight who had killed his mother.

Ianto stared at the blade. He couldn't help it. The sword might not have looked like much, but it had been bathed in the blood of a dragon, and that tainted the weapon. A single tear fell onto the metal, and it was only then that Ianto realized he was weeping.

He slid it back into its plain sheath, buckling the ancient leather belt around his waist. Dashing the tears from his eyes, the dragon turned and rejoined his other, where she waited for him.

Lisa's eyes narrowed as she took in the sword. "Why do you want that?" she demanded, standing up, every movement defensive.

Certainly she knew what it was; Ianto had shared with her the gory details of his family's massacre. "A memento…nothing more," he said. "I couldn't leave it here."

"I think it's a bit gruesome carrying around the sword that killed your mother," she retorted, taking a step away, out of range.

"It…helps me remember," he answered. "My mother always told me I should follow my heart, that I should trust it above anything else." He hadn't been doing that lately, and he was now seeing that his mother may have been right all along.

"You said you can lift the lockdown?" Lisa prompted.

Ianto nodded, stepping toward Toshiko's computer. He used his command code to bring up the lockdown program, mentally grinning as he realized just how good Toshiko was; Jack must have given the order that his codes be deactivated.

He felt Lisa come up beside him, watching as he tried to hack the program. She was so close, he could feel her body heat through the layers of his clothing. She was now within reach.

And Ianto spun, grabbing Lisa by the throat, using every bit of his strength to hold her still while he drew the dragon-killer from its sheath.

He caught her by surprise. Lisa was stunned into immobility long enough for Ianto to arm himself, and to get the sword up and aimed toward the soft spot under her left armpit.

But that was all the advantage she gave him.

In a sudden burst of golden light, Lisa changed into her dragon-form.

Ianto was thrown backward into Tosh's desk, the impact almost making him lose his grip on the sword. She loomed over him, her black sinuous body taking up almost all of the space between the desk and the medical bay. "How dare you," Lisa hissed. "How dare you turn against your own!" Her head darted forward, and it was all Ianto could do to dodge those vicious teeth.

He landed awkwardly, but managed to keep his grip on the sword. There was only one thing he could do to counter her, and to protect himself from her claws and flame.

Ianto triggered his own transformation.

The area was a bit cramped for two fully grown dragons, but Ianto was hoping it wouldn't matter. He leapt at her, wanting to overpower her quickly. He managed to pin her to the floor using his rear legs and tail in an attempt to immobilize her, grasping the sword as best he could in his own large, clawed hand, knowing he would have to strike just the right place in order to kill her outright.

Despite everything, he didn't want her to suffer needlessly.

Lisa hissed and spat under him, desperately trying to wriggle out of his grip. Ianto pressed his claws into her flanks, needing to hold her down just long enough.

And then, the opportunity presented itself, and his target was clearly visible.

Ianto pushed the sword deeply into the unprotected skin of her underarm, slamming it in as deeply as he could.

Lisa shrieked in agony, a deep shudder nearly knocking Ianto off where her struggles hadn't. A quiet "Why?" escaped her lips as Lisa passed on.

Ianto Jones was, once again, the Last.

He rolled away, and then gathered her up into his arms, vaguely aware of her blood on his claws. He roared his agony to the invisible sky, not noticing when the rest of the team gathered around him.

His song echoed through the Hub, as his heart broke once more.

* * *

_**26 September 2007** _

"Jack."

Jack started, glancing up from his work. Gwen stood in the doorway of his office, and the look on her face told him this wasn't a friendly visit.

He stifled a sigh. He really wasn't in the mood to deal with anyone right now. "I thought I sent you home," he said, barely civil. He turned his attention back to what he was doing: cleaning the sword that Ianto had used to kill Lisa.

_Dragon-killer_ , Ianto had called it the day he'd given it to Jack. He'd shown the captain one way to kill him, trusting Jack with that knowledge. _In case of emergency_ , the dragon had also said. Then he'd shared where it had come from, and it had been the first time that Jack had actually cried in front of the dragon.

"You did," she answered, and Jack was irritated that she hadn't taken it as the dismissal he'd meant his comment to be. "I wanted to talk to you."

"Say it fast. I'm tired. It's been a long night." It had taken hours to get everything cleaned up, once he'd managed to cajole Ianto back into his human form and had had Tosh take him home with her. He'd looked terrible; eyes far too large in his pale face, reddened and so full of pain that Jack hadn't been able to look into them. After he'd been bundled off, unresisting, and Gwen had been ordered to leave, he and Owen took care of Lisa's body and that of the scientist, Tanizaki.

"I wanted to talk to you about Ianto," Gwen said, coming to stand in front of Jack's desk.

Jack looked at her, resting the sword on the old towel he'd draped over his knees. She had a belligerent look on her face, and he knew this was about to get ugly. "What about Ianto?"

"What are you planning on doing with…him?"

The hesitation in her sentence made him roll his eyes. "I'm planning on giving him bereavement leave, and when he's ready he'll come back to work."

Gwen looked surprised by his response. "But Jack…he's an alien! I thought we caught aliens!"

Suddenly, it struck Jack that Ianto had been correct in not telling her about his being a dragon. "No, Gwen…Ianto is a dragon. He was born on Earth, and so were his parents and grandparents. Hell, he can trace his family back almost a million years." He smirked. "Remind him to tell you how the patriarch of his clan decided to teach early humans about fire sometime…it's hilarious."

Jack's attempt to lighten the mood didn't seem to work. Instead, she speared him with an angry glare. "You mean, you knew about him and didn't say anything?"

Jack frowned. "First of all…yes, of course I knew. It's one of the reasons I hired him." _In a roundabout way_ , he thought to himself. He wasn't about to explain the Tarot girl to Gwen; she wouldn't understand. "Secondly…it's up to Ianto whether he wanted to share that fact with you, which he'd decided not to."

"And the others?"

"They know about him, yes."

"Then why didn't he tell me?"

"Oh, I don't know Gwen," Jack snapped. "Maybe it's because he's known them for years, and you've only been here a couple of weeks? Or maybe because he had some inkling that you'd act exactly like this?" Well, he couldn't be certain of that last one, but the explanation Ianto had given still confused Jack a bit. "Or perhaps it's because you've insisted on treating him like part of the furniture, instead of my Second, and your superior?"

Gwen's eyes went wide, then narrowed. ""He's just a kid, Jack. He hasn't earned the right to be in charge."

Jack laughed. "A kid? Gwen, that so-called kid is over two thousand years old. He's the one who helped me build Torchwood up to what it is now. He watched my back during Yvonne Hartman's three attempted takeovers. And, if anything happened to me, he is the one I completely trust to run this place the way it needs to be run. So get off your high horse, Ms Cooper, because Ianto Jones is my right-hand man, and nothing is going to change that."

"But that's just it…he isn't a man. He doesn't deserve to be here, especially after what happened last night."

The captain put his polishing cloth down on his blotter, where he'd set his sword cleaning kit. "And what do you think happened here last night?" He was interested in her interpretation of events, because he was certain that she hadn't seen what the others – and Jack himself – had.

Gwen lifted her chin stubbornly. "I saw him smuggling a dangerous creature into the Hub, a creature that would've killed us all if it hadn't been stopped."

"Well," he said, re-sheathing the dragon-killer and leaning it against the side of his desk, "let me tell you what really happened then, shall I? I saw someone so desperately lonely for one of their own kind that he was willing to do anything to save the only other one he'd seen in centuries from what we humans had done to her. I saw him realize that he'd failed, and I saw him kill her instead of letting her escape. I saw him tear his own heart out in the process. _That_ is what I saw, Gwen. I saw a good being practically destroy every dream and desire he'd ever had in order to save us."

The look on Gwen's face was disbelieving. "You have got to be kidding me. You're going to excuse what he's done, just like that?"

Jack sighed. She wasn't even trying to understand. He had to give her some benefit for not knowing Ianto's history, the way he and the others did, but certainly she had to have seen just how much pain Ianto had been in last night. "I would have thought, with all that so-called compassion you claim to have, that you'd have been the first person to see just what it did to Ianto to kill Lisa last night."

She reared back, as if he'd physically slapped her. "Of course I feel badly that he lost someone – "

"No, Gwen. I don't think you do." It struck him suddenly. "You're just angry because you didn't know Ianto's secret. That I'm willing to forgive him. That I don't promote you over him. He's somehow damaged your dignity and you don't like that."

"That's ridiculous!"

"Is it? Is it really? Gwen, that 'creature' as you put it, was a young woman who was captured, tortured, and experimented on by human beings. Ianto saved her from Canary Wharf. He did everything in his power to help her – "

"But he hid her from us!"

"Yes, he did. And I'll be the first one to admit that it was my fault he did." It had been an almost painful epiphany for Jack, to know he'd so completely lost Ianto's trust that the dragon hadn't come to him about finding Lisa. All of this might have had a better ending if Jack hadn't done everything in his power to keep Ianto at arms' length. That knowledge was something he'd have to live with, and he hoped he'd be able to rebuild what bridges he'd burnt.

"How is that your fault?" she scoffed.

"That doesn't matter." He didn't want to share with her his own feelings toward Ianto. "But what you don't know is that Ianto Jones is the last of dragon-kind. There are no more like him anywhere. Human beings were responsible for that genocide, Gwen. And yet, he's chosen to leave his home and fight to protect the descendants of the very people who murdered his family." He picked up the sword. "This weapon was the one that killed his mother. He kept it as a reminder of just how evil humanity can be. Tell me honestly…would you be willing to fight for someone who killed Rhys? Or your parents? Would you be willing to put that aside for the greater good?"

Gwen simply stared at him. "I'm sorry Jack, that may be true but that doesn't excuse the fact that we have a creature working here that could have caused the deaths of every one of us."

"But it does."

They both turned, to see Tosh standing in the doorway, her arms crossed and her face stony with anger.

Jack put the sword down again and stepped around the desk. "How is he?"

Tosh's face crumpled. "He's gone, Jack. He left a note, saying he was going home."

Jack had to fight the urge to rub the pain in his chest away. "Did he say he'd be back?"

She nodded. "But I don't think he should be alone, Jack. He's in so much pain…

He gathered her into his arms, trying to give her comfort that Jack himself couldn't take. This was his fault. He'd pushed Ianto away, and now he was gone without saying goodbye in person. "We just need to give him time, Tosh."

"I know," she whispered. She clung to him for a moment, the pulled away, her eyes going to Gwen. "I can't believe you think you're the heart here," she accused. "If you were, you'd have been helping to comfort your teammate, instead of stabbing him in the back."

Gwen looked shocked at Toshiko's tone. Jack could understand; his quiet computer genius didn't often let her temper loose, but she was fiercely loyal to her friends, and chief among those was a certain dragon.

"I think you should go home, Gwen," Jack suggested, although in tone it was more an order. "Go spend the day with Rhys. Think about what you have, and what others have lost. Remember, don't let it slide."

She looked like she wanted to argue, but Jack wasn't going to deal with her anymore. He turned his back on her, putting his arm around Tosh and leading her to the chair opposite his desk. He leaned against the edge, so he could be closer to her. "You going to be okay?" he asked her quietly.

Toshiko nodded. "It's just hard, you know? He's my best friend and I can't help him."

There was an audible huff, then Jack saw Gwen turn and leave. He'd never felt more relieved. "I know, Tosh." He sighed, raking his hands through his hair. "I really stuffed this up, didn't I?"

"I wish I could say no, Jack…"

"No. If I hadn't alienated him, then he might have come to us when he'd found her. It wasn't that he didn't trust you and Owen, it was that he didn't trust _me_."

She laughed sadly. "When I started here, there was one constant I thought would never change: Ianto's belief in you."

"I miss it, Tosh. I miss _him_. How am I going to make this up to him?" He'd had a lot of time to think about what Ianto had said, and he'd had to admit to himself that the dragon had been absolutely right in his assessment of Jack's 'aloneness'.

"I think, right now he's afraid that you won't forgive him for betraying you. He…told me what happened in the hoard room." She looked down at her hands, which were twisting in her lap.

Jack reached over and covered them with one of his. "No, I was the one who betrayed _him_." He leaned back, snorting a laugh. "Sure, for about a minute I was in shock at his leaving with her, but then I realized that he knew I knew how to get out of that room. He knew I'd get out and follow them." It was a safety measure on the door: a small toggle just under the interior lock, that would open the door from the inside in case anyone got trapped inside. It had been one of the things that Ianto had liked about the large chamber when he'd been trying to decide where to put his hoard. He hadn't cared about being locked out…but being locked in by accident would have been embarrassing, he'd maintained.

Shaking his head, Jack said sadly, "I would have done it for him if he'd let me."

"I'm sure he knows that." Tosh grasped his hand in hers.

They stayed like that for about a minute, then Jack took his hand back and stood up straight. "We just need to give him time," he said. "He'll go home and mourn, and then come back."

"I just wish he hadn't left before I woke up."

"Maybe he thought you'd try to talk him out of going?"

"Maybe." Tosh shrugged. "I do think I would have reminded him that he didn't have to go through this alone." She stood. "I'm going to get some work done. I know you gave us all the day off, but I need to do something to keep my mind occupied."

Jack nodded. "Don't work too hard," he cautioned. "And leave when you feel like it."

"I won't…and I will." She stood, smiling slightly. Then she frowned. "We're going to make this all right, aren't we?"

He pulled her into another hug. "Yeah, Tosh. We're gonna make this all right."

It was a vow he was determined to keep.

She was halfway to the door when Jack called her back. She turned, looking at him expectantly.

He thought about what Ianto had once said…about trust. He remembered that night, standing on the Millennium Center roof, discussing Gwen's hiring and matters of trust. He'd tried to bully Ianto into trusting Gwen…and he'd refused. This morning, Jack had gotten a glimpse as to why.

But the dragon had also pointed out that Jack had known Toshiko and Owen a lot longer than he had Gwen, and that he'd never told them the truth about his immortality. Of course, Gwen wouldn't have known if she hadn't seen Jack resurrect, but the captain hadn't told him that.

If Jack could claim to trust Gwen with his secret, why couldn't he do the same with two people he's known for years?

Trust – or lack thereof – was what had caused the mess last night.

It was time Jack trusted. And he could start, now.

"Tosh, there's something I need to tell you…"


End file.
